I’ll Do My Walking in the Rain (Not)

Not the cold: you can quite easily defeat the cold by wearing an extra layer of clothing – and by pulling your thickest sweater on top. It’s not the heat, either – there is an old and trusted weapon against hot weather, called “taking it easy”. It’s not even short winter days: you can leave early. And neither is it the snow – I have hiked through snow, old snow admittedly, and found it surprisingly pleasant.

Walking in the Rain

No, the hiker’s worst enemy is rain. I can be even more specific: not the sudden downpour, the summer storm, the sunny-one-moment-deluge-the-next-sunny-again kind of rain.

No, I’m talking about persistent rain, the one that starts and then shows no signs of stopping ever again.

Ever, ever, ever.

In the beginning, this kind of rain may not seem too bad. Who has ever been hurt by a little water, after all? But then, after a while, this little water will begin to seep through all your clothing, including the presumably “waterproof” items, which will henceforth hold you in their wet embrace like a cold, dead fish.

When you finally seek shelter somewhere, most likely under a “leaking” tree, chances are you have already lost your will to live. Obviously, you are waiting for the rain to stop. But for how long: five minutes, 30 minutes, an hour? And if it does not: what then?

Most hikers have their own strategy against walking in the rain. And it’s always the same strategy: crossing fingers and hoping for the best. This strategy normally works very well for them until, one day, they are hit by the perfect downpour. They always are, sooner or later. Believe me. I am speaking from personal experience here.

There is, of course, nothing wrong about crossing one’s fingers and believing in the principle of hope. It is, however, better to have a healthy dose of optimism AND a plan in the event that this optimism proves groundless.

Here are my three bits of advice

Firstly, do not paint yourself into a corner. The best way to combat rain is to avoid it altogether. If you were to plan a hiking daytrip for the coming weekend, do not determine the specific day of your departure a week or so in advance but keep both the Saturday and the Sunday option open until the last possible moment.

Similarly, if you are planning a week-long trip to – say – the Alps and want to reserve one day or even two for hiking excursions, do not plan everything in detail while you are still at home but wait till you have arrived and studied the short-term weather forecasts before you make your final decision as to the exact dates. Following which, you obviously go for the day with the worst forecast so you can apply my other bits of advice.

Secondly, don’t walk into the rain in the morning. Wait for a maximum of one hour and then decide what you will do with the rest of the day. No schedule is (or should be) so tight that an hour of delay will totally throw you. If the weather has not improved after one hour, roll out Plan B.

You should always have a Plan B!

Do something else, obviously something less weather-dependent but something equally enjoyable – a trip to a near-by historic Old Town, perhaps, or to a museum you have always wanted to visit. Do this if only to prevent you from looking out all day and to shout at the first dry spell: ‘I knew it! I should have gone after all!’

Also because all the build-up to your “big day out” and all the anticipation must not have been totally in vain. This is particularly true, obviously, if you have planned to go out and have fun together with other people (your kids, for example), but equally applies if you are all alone. You should not disappoint yourself either.

Thirdly, what to do when – despite all your precautions – you have gone out and been caught in the rain. Seek shelter, but be clear for how long: set yourself a time limit after which, in the event that it still rains, you are prepared to call the whole thing off.

While you are sheltering from the rain, study the map and look for a near-by road or village with a bus stop from where you can get to the next town. Make sure, under all circumstances, that the day ends well, that the outing enters family folklore as “the day when we were drenched, walked into the coffee shop and the owner took pity on us, placing us next to the chimney fire and serving us the two largest whiskeys I have ever seen”. Or some such like, not, at any rate, as “the day we were miserable and cold and went home, tails between our legs”. This will give you the confidence to set out again the next time – when, of course, the sun will shine all day and everything will be for the best.

As Sir Ranulph Fiennes said “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”. I am quite happy walking through the rain all day if required on a multi-day hike. A Paclite rainjacket and overtrousers with goretex-lined boots keeps me warm and dry.

Your tip on waiting until arriving to set firm plans is a good one and even applies to go up the mountain for views! Walking in the rain just doesn’t seem too appealing. Now as a runner, I do run rain or shine but there is something about walking in the rain that just seems wrong :)

I am never a big fan of hiking in the rain as I prefer to hike under the sun, but if I’m doing a hike on a day where it drizzles or does rain a bit, I’ll just wear a waterproof jacket, like I did when I went up the Pennine Way.

I don’t mind a light drizzle and in fact I like the ambiance a little light rain can induce but when I’m on a multi day hike and I get a big honking blister because of the rain and there is no warm fire or hot toddy in sight then I am not a happy camper!

LOL! This made me smile – I AM English of course! If I’d worried too much about rain I would probably never have left the house! Hiking here, however, it could be pleasant in light rain, because it’s so unaccustomed, but since the island is so steep, rain generally obscures views, which is the bigger part of hiking for me.

This exact subject has been on my mind, picturing visitors walking around Cork next February. I’m trying to plan for flexibility, but am considering offerings to the local gods to make sure the week is beautiful and sunny. ;)

I love walking in the rain but I definitely wouldn’t hike in it. Wet, soggy clothes are so uncomfortable.
Your first bit of advice: “The best way to combat rain is to avoid it altogether” makes perfect sense!

Hiking in the rain has actually been on my mind. I just asked someone this weekend about good hiking pants for wet weather. We just got 8 inches of rain in the last few days (no, not joking about that) so wet weather has been on my mind. Fortunately, this is something we don’t have to worry about a lot in California but I’d love to plan more hikes in areas where it rains a little more than here.

Walking in the rain used to be considered a treat in our family, but that was back when my kids considered splashing in puddles to be quality entertainment. Those days are (sadly) behind us now, and any hint of rain usually sends us scurrying for cover. I should really take your advise and keep a “Plan B” ready to implement.